Biscayne National Park will celebrate the National Park Service's 90th birthday on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006. The day begins with a free 10 a.m. boat trip to the park’s reefs or islands for people born in 1916, the same year the National Park Service was established, 1916. At 2 p.m. the film Our National Parks: An American Legacy will be shown in the auditorium of the Dante Fascell Visitor Center. At 2:30, kids can participate in opening a giant arrowhead-shaped piñata filled with national park stickers, cards, buttons and other treats, followed immediately by birthday cake and punch for all. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center is located nine miles east of Homestead on SW 328 Street.
To qualify for a free boat trip, visitors must show proof of being born in 1916, and be accompanied by at least one paying passenger. Regular price for the 10 a.m. ranger-led boat trip is $24.45 for adults, $19.45 for senior citizens and $16.45 for kids under 12. Prices do not include sales tax or the $2.50 fuel surcharge added to adult and senior tickets. Departure is weather dependent and subject to an 8-passenger minimum.
From lofty mountain peaks to the low deserts, from volcanoes to glaciers, and from ancient ruins to places associated with the Civil Rights Movement, the National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Established on Aug. 25, 1916, the agency now manages 390 units and many other programs that benefit natural and cultural resource protection.
Biscayne National Park’s 172,000 acres, most of which is covered by water, protect mangrove forests, clear bay waters, the northernmost Florida Keys and a portion of the world’s third-largest coral reef. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center features exhibits and films about the park as well as plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. The park’s concessioner also offers canoe and kayak rentals, glass-bottom boat tours and snorkeling trips.
The National Park Service Birthday Party is made possible by the Florida National Parks and Monuments Association.
For more information on the celebration, call 305-230-7275, x0.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
